Invisible Fence?

by mwdonnelly on August 18, 2008

We’re in the process of buying a new house. The house is lovely with almost an acre of land with lush green lawns, wonderful landscaping, and just a magnificent field of green everywhere. Underneath it all across the property line is an invisible fence. The previous owners put it in to keep their Australian Shepherds in the yard. Putting up a barrier fence would be way too costly to cover the entire property, and putting up a partial fence would destroy the lovely landscaping of the house.

Jasmine isn’t particularly an outdoors dog. She goes out when she has to, and sometimes she likes to lie in the grass in the back yard, but mostly she likes being inside the safe, comfy house with me. When she goes outside, she is supervised by me. Now, with this new house, a doggie door and an invisible fence, she has the opportunity for more autonomy and it gives us the opportunity to have her trained to use a doggie door (and hopefully prevent accidents in the future).

However, I am reticent about the invisible fence. Some say it’s cruel. I’m starting to do some research on it, but I could use some opinions and advice. Please speak up (for or against), but please don’t flame. I want to make an informed decision and I’d appreciate some help!

10 responses to “Invisible Fence?”

The only thing I’ve seen with the invisible fence is it’s not 100% foolproof. Dogs do get out. One did here in my neighborhood and was hit. Not a dachshund but a small dog. I’ve also had a breeder tell me that even one dog getting out is too many.

You might find it’s not even a real issue. Most dauchshunds hate to be outside alone for very long. Especially when there is a comfy bed and mom inside!

One thing you might consider is that an invisible fence is made to keep your pets in your yard; however it does NOT prevent any stray animal from getting inside the yard and possibly hurting your dog. That is the reason I decided against an invisible fence.

I have an Invisible Fence installed on my yard and so far it seems to be working well. I shopped around a lot for different pet containment systems, but I found that having an actual Invisible Fence is probably the best way to go. The reason I chose the Invisible Fence over their competitors is because it comes with professional training. You might pay a little more, but they were really friendly and my two dogs Mugsy and Freddy have enjoyed a lot more freedom. I think the key to the whole thing is training and having your dog understand where the boundaries are. Why not give your dog a little more freedom? Good luck with everything and enjoy the new house!

There are 2 things that concern me about invisible fences. As someone else mentioned, other animals can get in. I have heard a couple of stories of larger dogs coming into the yard and attacking the dog on inside – who could not escape. The other issue is that squirrels, birds, whatever are able to leave your yard – and depending on the prey drive and desire of the dachshund, the dog will run after them – leaving the yard. I have a couple of acres too, and opted for a fence in a smaller area. If you call a landscape designer they can help you pick a fence that can look very natural on your property. Or take a picture of your property in to a local nursery. Enjoy your new home!

Fencing in a smaller part of the yard seems sensible, although if you are worried about her getting out I think a few training sessions with the invisible fence and she would know where she was allowed to go. It doesn’t sound like she is a real wanderer anyway and a little time and proper caution will tell if you need to worry about any local “varmints”.

The biggest problem is that it conditions the dog to dislike approaching pedestrians and other dogs. When a dog sees someone approaching they naturally want to investigate, and then when they get close to the edge of the yard they get shocked.

hi-
i came across your site while searching for feedback about invisible fences. We also have a wiener dog – good loving girl who tends to run off at the first occasion. We did install the invisible fence. The dog is in the process of training right now. Some days are good, some are bad. She escaped a couple of times already, but the trainer said her correction level is very very low. I’m curious to learn about your decision about installing one or not. Honestly, there are days when I regret the decision: I wonder if she’ll ever learn not to get close to the boundary. We do the trainings religiously every day, several times a day and all seems to be going well… until she sees a stray cat and dashes out. It’s been a week so far. I hope we’ll make more progress soon!

My final decision was not to use the Invisible Fence. The deciding factor is that while the fence would keep the dog in the yard, it would not keep other dogs out. Since many of the people around here walk their dogs off-leash, I didn’t think it would be in Jasmine’s best interest to keep her confined using the fence but not protecting her from other dogs. The neighbor’s dog has even trotted over. So, the fence is there but not in use.